What do our Readers want to see written about on our site

[dlcnurse]

I know that there are many people out there that have questions and don't know how to ask it, or think it is just a dumb question to ask....

Or a topic /health issue that you would like to learn more about....

Or medications that you are reall familiar about how it works, the side effects, interactions with other meds etcc.....

Here is a spot for you to do that! Please don't be shy and you don't have to sign your name or anything if you would like to be annonomous about it.

I am open to anything that any one would like to toss my way and it will get answered. So fire away people! We will be glad to answer any and all questions regardless of what it is... well of course nothing dirty or lude language, etc..

So come one guys what kind of questions do you have that we can help you with... it can be a disease process, a medication process, interactions with medicines, how to afford you medicines... just anything and everything. WE would love to help you understand why you take the medications you do and the body's responses before the medication and after the medication... ANYTHING YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT-PLEASE POST! YOU CAN ENTER UNDER GUEST AND NOT SIGH YOUR NAME OR USERNAME. I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM SOME OF YOU. THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT IT DUMB OR NOT WORTH ASKING... CURIOSITY IS A NORMAL REACTION AND SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO ACT ON IT. COME ON ASK THE QUESTIONS!!!

[puzzled]

Maybe I am worried about nothing.

My grandfather died because his prescription was filled with the wrong strength of medicine.

Since most of my medications are generic, I find the pills change from time to time with different colors, shapes and sizes. My pharmacist tells me not to worry because many companies change the way the medication looks. I feel he is placating me and not checking the pills to make sure they are the right ones.

Is there any simple way for me to check my pills to find out whether they are correct?

There are so many shapes, sizes and markings. It would be too hard to search through thousands of pictures or descriptions.

Thank you for any ideas.

[dlcnurse]

Thank you for your question. Many drug companies have their own version of a drug in a generic form. Many of these generic forms are in some formulation of the trade name. They also have a ending that will most generally be the same. To give you an example, the drug Inderal. Its trade name is propranolol. In both drugs names, the ending sound is "lol". Another name in this group of drugs in Toprol or Metopropolol. Both Inderal and Toprol have the same sound at the end of the name, and the generic form also has the "lol". Both of these drugs are in a classification of beta blockers.

For me, that makes it simpler to identify but for the layperson, you can find information regarding your own prescriptions. On the front of your prescription bottle, down in the lower left hand corner, it should say "subst for Inderal LA 60 mg. (this area should always give you the name of what you were actually prescribed and the dosage amount)
Directly under that should be a NDC # which is the lot number for the drug you received.
In the lower right hand side of your prescription it should give you the manufacturer of the drug you received and looks something like this:
Mfg:PURPAC PHARMACEUTICALS
All of this info is also important if there ever is a recall on the medication that you are taking. It will also help you to identify if it is from a different pharmaceutical company and clues you to the fact that the tablet will not look the same as you had.

Most bottles will say for example "Take 1 capsule by mouth daily at bedtime" or Take 1 tablet by mouth twice daily"
Under that it will give the amount of tablets: example #30 Propranolol-ER 60 mg Cap"

Most of the drugs also will have the manufacturers own identity scored on the pill as well. For example "Merck" will have its abrev. Mrk or Mck on one side of the tablet and the dosage amount on the other side.

I know that it is difficult to trust the pharmacies where we receive our medications so doing a look-up for the medication that is listed on your prescription bottle almost becomes a regular routine simply because there are a number of different companies making the same medication but a different color, shape and size. As a general rule, always look at your prescription the very first time you fill it and put a mental note in your mind of its color, strength, shape, size, and name and compare it with your refills each time you have it refilled. (Smell is also important)

One of the best sites that I can steer you towards has a look-up for the prescription name or by description of the tablet/capsule and also gives you all the information. One of the difficult parts on this site for look ups is to describe the pill and then it will bring up all the different drugs that look like that description. The problem with this is that there are a number of medications that are not on this list which can lead someone to think that they have the wrong medicine, because many of them are similar in appearance. I find it much easier to go by the name on the bottle and then click on the tab for description and it will only give you THAT pill's color, size, shape, name, etc.
If you take one of the pills out of the bottle, many of them have the dose on the tablet such as the number 10 or it has a # that usually matches the last four digits of the NDC # listed in the lower left hand corner.

To look up your medications all in one area go to http://www.drugs.com
and you can do a look up either in the search box or by scrolling down the different names of medications on their site.

It is very difficult to know that you have the "right" dose, drug, and the amount that was prescribed by your doctor. Prior to filling your prescription, write down all the information that is written on the script and compare that same info with the bottle you receive from the pharmacy. The label on your bottle should match everything that was on the prescription. If it doesn't, call your pharmacist and/or take the bottle back to them and have them double check what the doctor wrote on the prescription.
Hopefully this has helped you to be able to identify the generic drugs with the trade name of what you were prescribed.

[Guest]

I don't know if this is the right place to ask about this.

In order to save money I stopped using Niaspan and started with non-prescription Slo-Niacin.

Now I've read that the FDA does not make sure that supplements contain what is stated on their labels.

How can I find out whether my supplements' labels are correct?

I really don't want to spend a lot on a prescription drug when a supplement should do the same thing, but I will if I can't trust the supplement.

[dlcnurse]

Over the Counter (OTC)
Niacin
NYE-a-sin
Indications for Use
Lowers cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood and treats niacin deficiency (pellagra). Also reduces heart attack risk and narrowing of the arteries in people who have heart disease. This medicine is a vitamin (B3).

Brand Name(s)